


The Cat and the Bunny

by TuppingLiberty



Category: Check Please! (Webcomic)
Genre: Anxiety, Canon Compliant, Future Fic, Halloween, M/M, mature relationship discussions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-29
Updated: 2017-10-29
Packaged: 2019-01-26 09:03:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,404
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12553972
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TuppingLiberty/pseuds/TuppingLiberty
Summary: Bitty joins Jack in Providence for Halloween one year and they end up having a rather serious, but necessary talk.Also Bitty thinks Jack is adorable because he dresses up as a cat each year.





	The Cat and the Bunny

**Author's Note:**

> Jack and Bitty both experience some anxiety in this fic due to a conversation they have about children.

Jack with cat ears is the most adorable thing Bitty has ever seen. 

And then Jack makes it a  _ thing,  _ his perennial costume the cat ears and whiskers drawn on his face like he’s Dan and Phil’s long lost Canadian brother (come on, like Bitty isn’t a closet Phan, and he knows he shouldn’t because the fact that there’s  _ fic _ out there of Jack and Parse makes him squick a little and so he should just leave well enough alone but then he gets sucked into another video and. Damn.). 

And  _ then, _ when Bitty visits Providence for Halloween, and sees that Jack is handing  _ full bars of chocolate _ to the kids in his complex, in his cat ears,  _ that’s _ the most adorable thing Bitty has ever seen. 

And  _ then then, _ when Bitty sees Jack hand a little kid  _ in a Falconers costume - Jack’s jersey, to be precise  _ \- Bitty nearly faints from how fucking adorable it all is. 

“My little gay heart cannot take this,” he says, overdramatizing by placing a hand to his brow and ‘fainting’ back dramatically to the couch, once the door is closed and the mini-Jack is out of sight (after Bitty took, like, a million pictures of Jack, the kid, and the kid’s dad, which he’s sure are right now being posted all over social media). 

Jack laughs, sitting on the couch and bringing Bitty’s legs up on his lap. “Hmmm, Alexa, please search ‘how to revive a boyfriend.’”

“Searching…” the mechanical voice says from the little black box. 

“Cancel that, Alexa.” Bitty sticks out his tongue at Jack. 

“It’s a miracle! You’ve been revived!” Jack pulls Bitty playfully up and kisses him. 

“Obviously it was your kisses, Prince Charming.” 

“I don’t think that’s how that works.” 

The makeup on Jack’s nose is a little smudged, and Bitty’s 100% sure he now has a black streak across his face. The doorbell rings, and Bitty springs up to check his appearance as Jack more leisurely strolls to the door. 

“Trick or treat!” 

“Oh, what a good little, um, very bloody zombie...bride?” 

The little girl beams up at Jack, and Bitty, who’s pretty sure he got the smudge, feels his heart melt a little more. He takes Jack’s arm and watches Jack give her a full size Snickers, after double-checking about peanut allergies. 

“A kitty and a bunny! You’re cute!” The little zombie bride says, smiling at them. 

Yes, Bitty repurposed the bunny costume this year. Yes, he made it slightly more child appropriate by adding grey leggings underneath.  _ Yes, _ Jack was probably still going to ravage him in it later. A cat fu- ahem - getting down with a bunny. Well. Stranger things and all that.

“What do you say?” her mom prompts as zombie bride turns to go. 

“Thank you Mister Jack and Bitty!” 

“See you later, Cor- I mean, zombie bride!” Jack calls as they walk to the next door in the hallway. 

When Jack turns to him, his eyes are as light as ever. Bitty would have thought that a night like Halloween would set off Jack’s triggers, but Jack’s triggers are basically nonexistent when it comes to kids. Coaching peewee hockey was a large component of how he recovered, Jack once confessed to him, along with therapy and a close eye on his meds. 

“You got a little something,” Jack says, and wipes at where Bitty thought he got all of the black paint off. 

“Oh my god, Jack, I bet Cordy’s mom totally knew!” 

“What, that we kissed? Like Yvette would care.” 

Bitty hums, wondering if he’s ever going to kick the ‘we don’t care as long as you don’t shove it in our faces by doing anything like  _ kissing’  _ attitude he’d had planted in him from Georgia.  _ Baby steps,  _ he reassures himself. “Do you want some more hot cider?”

Jack kisses Bitty’s forehead, and Bitty feels the furrows up there smooth out a little. He forces himself to relax. “Yeah, I’d love some, bud.” 

He brings the cider back and cuddles up with Jack on the couch again to watch Hocus Pocus. After a half an hour with no trick or treaters, Jack turns off the light outside his door and settles back in with Bitty. Bitty tosses the throw blanket back over Jack’s legs and sighs as he rests his head down on Jack’s chest. 

“Eric, can I ask you something, um-- important, maybe?”

Bitty pauses mid-cider-sip and readjusts so he can see Jack’s face. His heart hammers up into his throat at the seriousness of Jack's tone. “Wh-wha- yes?”

“Do you want kids?”

Bitty’s heart ca-thunks and then starts to return to normal. Jack, however, still looks anxious. “Yeah, I want kids. Someday,” he adds. “Like. Let me get through the rest of this decade first, maybe.” 

Bitty expects to see relief on Jack’s face, but the anxiety is still there. “Do you ever think about...um...having kids, with  _ me?” _

Bitty’s brows shoot up. It’s a different question, sure. One about commitment. The long-term-ness of their relationship. It’s a question about Bitty’s possible secret desires. What if they don’t match Jack’s? He cups Jack’s face, takes a deep breath, and plunges down for the dive. “Yeah. I do. I think about us, together, a decade from now, and we’ve got kids.” 

Jack nods, and now Bitty’s anxiety kicks up again. Because Jack’s not looking especially happy. 

“Jack?” Bitty prompts softly. 

“You’re not worried that I’m- that it would be really hard, having kids with me? It’s- it’s- listen, Papa and I have a better relationship now, but growing up in his shadow was- coupled with my anxiety- I can’t- I don’t want to leave it all for you. You don’t deserve that. You deserve a career you love, and a partner that can support you, who’s not traveling nine months a year in a high-stress job-” Jack breaks off to take a breath. Goes through another breathing cycle. “I really want that, too. Kids. With you. A decade from now, sure. I'm just worried I can't- I won't be able to give you the support you deserve.”

Bitty lets him breathe some more, drawing Jack’s head in to lay on his chest. Jack leaves another black mark on his costume, but Bitty is beyond caring. When Jack’s breathing sounds mostly normal, Bitty strokes through his hair. “I like that you asked,” he murmurs. “I like that you asked. I think it’s something people should talk about early, you know? But we don’t have to make the plan now. If it’s something we both want, a long time from now, guess what? We have a long time to figure out the logistics.” 

He cups Jack’s face in his hands again, and their eyes meet. “I know two things right now, Jack. The first thing is, I know you’re going to be an amazing dad. I know it with all of my heart. The second thing I know is that you are a caring, equal partner in this relationship. You _do_ support me, right now. So the rest? We'll figure it out later."  


\------------  


_ 11 Halloweens Later _

Falconers Halloween Family Skate is one of Bitty’s favorite events of the year. He loves seeing all the kids dressed up, loves passing out candy as they skate by. Likes pulling out the double toe loop to impress everyone and prove to himself he still has it in his repertoire.  

One of the videographers, Steve, films it, then shakes his head at Bitty. “You know, that would be a whole lot better for us if the Bittle family didn’t decide to wear the same costumes every year, Bitty.” 

Bitty turns on the ice and shakes his bunny tail at him. “You know, we have a sayin’ down South, Stevie," he replies, laying the accent on extra thick because he knew the viewers at home loved it, "If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” 

Steve laughs, then turns to film Jack and Meredith as they make their way slowly onto the ice. Bitty skates up to them, pressing a kiss to Jack’s whiskered cheek. They let Meredith get her sea legs - she just started skating a few months ago - then whisk her up for a family picture when Steve insists. 

Jack slings an arm around Bitty as Bitty holds Meredith up, and the Bittles smile for the camera for another Halloween video: the cat, the bunny, and the fox. 

**Author's Note:**

> This is based off of THIS amazing piece of fanart! So good that I thought it was Ngozi, which is why I didn't put the link up yesterday. Click here: https://wheeloffortune-design.tumblr.com/post/166248277030/you-know-jack-gives-out-the-full-sized-candy-bars
> 
>  
> 
> Thanks for reading! I really, really appreciate comments and kudos. Have a safe and fun and happy Halloween!


End file.
